As is well known, an infant bed (commonly referred to as a crib) is a small bed that is specifically designed for infants and very young children. Cribs are designed to safely restrict the infant to the crib and therefore, are designed so that the sides are too high for an infant to climb and no footholds are provided. Cribs are also designed to prevent limb entrapment and consequently, in many countries, government agencies that oversee product safety have enacted standards for cribs. For example, typical standards include requirements that concern the size and spacing of the vertical bars or slats on the sides and ends and also the distance between the top of the side and the top of the mattress support in different operating positions.
Conventional baby cribs include side rails that are made up of top and bottom horizontal bars interconnected by a series of spaced apart slats. Frequently babies and toddlers while sleeping or playing in their cribs intentionally or accidentally extend their limbs out of the crib between the slats and can have difficulty drawing them back into the crib. If this occurs when the child is sleeping, the extended limbs will remain uncovered and become cold, and the child will ultimately awaken. In addition, the child could potentially be injured or caused discomfort by having a limb become temporarily lodged between a pair of slats. Most conventional cribs also include headboards and footboards that also can be made with spaced-apart supports (similar to side rails) and as a result, the infant can extend a limb between these supports as well.
While once popular, one style of crib that was commonly known as a “drop-side” crib has been recently banned in the United States due to safety concerns resulting from the drop-down side portion thereof. As a result, the prevalent crib design of the day is a fixed crib structure that most often includes two side rail sections and a footboard/headboard or some other structure that closes off one end of the crib. For example, some cribs include an integral changing station which is fixedly attached to one end of the crib and provides a vertical wall that closes off that end of the crib's sleeping area.
In addition to a mattress, there are a vast number of different crib accessory products that are sold for use with a crib. These accessory products can range from toys, such as mobiles, to comfort products, such as quilts and bedding and to safety products that are designed to address potential safety concerns and/or provide additional protection for the infant in the crib. For example, one type of product that is popular is a crib shield/crib bumper that is disposed across at least a portion of the crib. “Crib bumpers” are marketed to keep children from bumping against the hard sides and hurting themselves and keeping arms and legs inside of the crib. Crib bumpers can be formed in different styles and using different materials. For example, traditional crib bumpers can be formed from a number of different materials, including natural materials (e.g., cotton or bamboo) or synthetic materials (e.g., polyester) that provide a padded product that protects the infant from the hard sides. Crib bumpers can be marketed as part of a matching bedding set and therefore, often include decorative patterns or decorative indicia, such as animals, etc. Many parents like the decorative look of the traditional crib bumpers.
In addition and more recently, crib shields/crib bumpers can be formed of a mesh material that is intended to provide increased ventilation. These products can be in the form of a breathable integrated padded mesh material. However, these mesh products lack the decorative appearance of more traditional crib bumpers. Most times, the mesh product is in the form a plain mesh panel that lacks any ornamental detail or only includes minor ornamental detail.